Charlie McAvoy signs eight-year, $76M extension with Boston Bruins

Defenseman Charlie McAvoy has signed an eight-year extension with the Boston Bruins, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The deal carries a cap hit of $9.5M, taking him through the 2029-30 season. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports the details of the contract:

2022-23: $6.0M salary + $3.25M signing bonus
2023-24: $7.75M salary + $3.25M signing bonus
2024-25: $8.5M salary + $3.0M signing bonus
2025-26: $8.5M salary + $3.0M signing bonus
2026-27: $6.0M salary + $4.0M signing bonus
2027-28: $3.75M salary + $4.0M signing bonus
2028-29: $4.5M salary + $3.0M signing bonus
2029-30: $4.5M salary + $3.0M signing bonus

The contract carries a full no-movement clause from 2025-26 to 2027-28, per Seravalli. The deal has a 10-team "yes" trade list in 2028-29 and a 10-team "no" trade list in 2029-30.

McAvoy was due to be a restricted free agent at the season’s end. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $14.7M deal ($4.9M cap hit) signed prior to the 2019-20 season.

This contract is the fourth big-money deal handed out to restricted free-agent defensemen within the last few months, joining just Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen with an eight-year deal. McAvoy’s cap hit slots above Cale Makar’s $9.0M and just below Zach Werenski’s $9.58M, but he’s signed for more term than either of those players.

McAvoy has been a consistent top-flight two-way defenseman ever since his rookie season in 2017-18. While he’s yet to play a full 82-game season in his career, fighting injuries and the pandemic, he’s now finished top 10 in Norris Trophy voting for two consecutive seasons. He’s scored between 28 and 32 points every season of his career, totalling 122 points in 235 contests. His ice time has steadily climbed from the 22:09 mark he logged in his rookie season, hitting 24:00 per night last season.

While McAvoy’s point totals may not come with the same "wow" factor as a Makar or Quinn Hughes, he’s become arguably a top-10 defenseman in the league due to his off-the-charts hockey IQ and two-way acumen. His lower point rates than his peers also shouldn’t be taken to say that McAvoy isn’t an elite offensive play driver -- he is, seeing 52.4% of his career zone starts in the offensive zone. He can log legitimate zone time in the defensive end, too, excelling just as well there. Over his career, McAvoy’s controlled 54.4% of Corsi at even strength. A capable penalty killer as well, McAvoy remains one of the best all-around packages in the league. At just 23, the potential is still tantalizing.

Few will complain about having a franchise stalwart locked up for eight years, but this deal offers a certain level of cap security for the Bruins as well. Per CapFriendly, the team enters next year with $13.1M in cap space with just Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk as notable players to re-sign.